Omer B returns with “Bending Time,” a high-energy funk-rock instrumental that brings him together with iconic jazz trailblazer Oz Noy, drummer Oded Kafri, bassist Andy Warner and Hammond organist Abramo Riti. The result is a tightly composed showcase of groove, musicianship and momentum, with an energy that lives up to the track’s title.
“Bending Time” gets moving immediately. Omer B’s guitar locks in with Kafri’s physically charged drumming, creating tension before the arrangement has fully opened up. Once Warner’s bass and Riti’s Hammond enter the frame, that tension settles into a thick, full-bodied groove. The playing has weight and force, yet it never turns cumbersome or chaotic. Even at its most polished, the track keeps a distinctly human feel.
The engine is a relentless funk-rock backbeat. Its cadence is quick and propulsive, but the musicians stay deep in the pocket rather than simply chasing speed. That control gives the track its sense of forward motion. Kafri and Warner build a firm rhythmic foundation, while the guitars have enough room to breathe, bend and improvise around it.
Omer B serves as the track’s architectural centre. He avoids turning the performance into an exercise in endless shredding, relying instead on sharp syncopated rhythm chops, melodic motifs and heavy chord progressions with a strong melodic pull. Those choices define the song’s character and carry it cleanly through each transition. There is clear compositional discipline in the guitar work, and every part feels placed with intention.
Then Oz Noy enters the conversation. He slips comfortably into the groove Omer has already established before bringing in his own twisted blues vocabulary. His jazz instincts add an unpredictable edge to the arrangement. The solos arrive with real heat, but they never pull the track away from its underlying pulse.
That exchange gives “Bending Time” much of its character. Noy’s improvisational guitar glides over Omer’s rock foundation, while Kafri’s drums, Warner’s bass and Riti’s Hammond keep the whole machine planted on the road. Composition and improvisation keep pushing against each other, with vintage rock swagger rubbing up against modern fusion sophistication.
The track also carries an unmistakable high-octane charge. That makes sense given Omer B’s life as an amateur race driver. “Bending Time” sustains the feeling of acceleration from beginning to end, as if each section is leaning into the next corner.
Muscular, groove-laden, unpredictable and at times hauntingly beautiful, “Bending Time” captures what can happen when exceptional musicians are given space to play. Funk-rock provides the foundation, while blues, jazz, fusion and classic rock expand the track’s vocabulary without diluting its identity.
Somewhere in that rush, “Bending Time” fulfills the promise of its name. Four minutes and fifty seconds seem to slip loose from the clock.
Maybe don’t simply listen to this one. Feel the engine.